Anomaly
by Zamelot
Summary: Contrary to popular belief, there was nothing romantic about broom closets: they were strictly buisness. [ONEshot]


___I've never really written Harry Potter fanfiction before, but I've been working on one since May. This isn't it. This is just a random unoriginal idea that popped into my head yesterday evening and took me three hours to write by hand. Like I said, not original, but I had to try this plot out my own way. I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Lily supposed that she got it from Petunia: the everyday decorum of life. Half remembered dreams, classes, homework, and sleep. Then the cycle repeated itself. Not exactly exciting, but she couldn't complain.

She had good grades, good parents, good friends, and was, overall, a good student. She never missed a class, missed a homework, nor missed an opportunity to assist a fellow classmate. She was a role model student, the Head Girl of Hogwarts, and just the type of person who needed some spice in her life.

While one could hardly call James Potter: Head Boy of his year, Quidditch captain and chaser, and the very type of boy any girl from a respectable family wouldn't dare bring home for dinner; a bad boy, he hardly seemed capable of the responsibilities placed unto him by the Headmaster.

A great deal of his energy, which should have been used to keeping students in line, was placed into pranks, gallivanting about with his three friends whom he affectionately dubbed Moony, Wormtail, and Padfoot, and trying all the ways possible to get a certain girl to notice him.

In a matter of speaking, it wasn't so much of noticing as it was impressing. It was quite impossible for one not to notice James Potter what with his casually swept back and wind blown hair, hazel eyes, black glasses perched on the tip of his long straight nose, and his long slender hands with the smooth skin stretched tightly over the bones and think tendons. He was, without a doubt, handsome and rather quick witted, smart, and clever. He always seemed to know what to say and when to say it, but for some reason or another, never knew what exactly to do when around the girl in question.

Had it been any other girl, James would've gone along with the usual dress code of the Marauders: the untucked shirts and the loose and often undone ties, however, this casual choice in holding himself never seemed to strike a cord in Lily. He was slowly beginning to look less like the Mastermind of the Marauders and more like the square even compared to Moony who had his tie up to his neck and his shirt in his pants in the morning, but couldn't look any more different by lunchtime.

Oftentimes, students went up to Lily, telling her that they had to hand it to her, as they believed she was the one responsible for the dramatic change in James Potter. She, on the other hand, felt that she'd done no such thing. It was his duty as Head Boy to present an acceptable image to the student body. Others laughed off her ignorance for modesty and went along astounded that they'd lived and seen the taming of James Potter.

* * *

Waking up one morning, Sirius turned his face away from the window and saw James standing in front of a floating shaving mirror, slimy blue grey potions all over the foot of his bed, and trying to properly tie his tie and flatten his hair.

"What the bloody hell….. what happened to the Quidditch hero look?" he asked groggily, warily eyeing the black comb as it racked itself through James' hair then dipped itself into the blue gray potion before going through his hair again.

"We go through this every morning. Lily doesn't care for it," James replied, finished with his tie and now checking the smoothness of his cheeks and chin.

Sirius rolled his eyes while watching a half awake Peter attempt to fly off the side of his bed. "But she cares for the 'L' '7' look, does she?"

James pressed both his hands on his hair attempting to make it stay flat, but to no avail. Locks of it popped up in random areas causing James to growl in frustration. "I was actually going for a seraphic appearance," he retorted, picking up the blue gray potion and pouring a chunk of it into his hand.

"You put any more of that gunk in you hair and you'll resemble jolly old Snivellus," Remus reentered the dormitory, rubbing his hair dry with a towel. He smiled carelessly at James, who glared at him in return.

"Look," he began, exasperated, "Why are you always picking on me? I just want to impress Lily. She hated me when I was an immature, obnoxious, showing off git, but she likes me better now that I'm—"

"A square?" Peter piped up, trying to grab the comb floating by James' ear.

James glowered at Peter as Remus sat down at the edge of Sirius' bed, ignoring the kick he received from underneath the covers. "As far as I'm concerned, Prongs, you and Lily are set to lead a simple life and die of natural causes."

"In other words," Sirius interrupted, sitting up, "You'll bore each other to death."

With a wave of his wand, James set down the mirror and combs, and then turned to look at Sirius to Remus to Peter, the latter who was now horrified at how much gel there was on the comb and was now in his own hair.

"Fine," he gave in, taking a seat on the bed across from Remus. "What should I do?"

* * *

Not only did Lily never miss a class, she was never late for one either. One could easily dub her the Iron Horse of Hogwarts. She took her usual seat in the middle of the Potions classroom and pulled out the homework she had completed with James the previous night in the common room by the fire. They finished the questions rather quickly, only getting stuck on a few or so, and Lily had half a mind to approach Serverus about it, but quickly thought better of it. She wouldn't want to give him any false hopes of rekindling their fragile, broken relationship. She didn't want to see his bitter side again especially since she was beginning to spend more and more time with James, aside from her head Girl duties. She'd rather keep the memory of the boy she met at the playground rather than the sour faced, miserable boy he was now.

Students were steadily piling into the classroom, some leaning against the tables talking to one another, and the hallway was a blur of bodies clad in the school uniform and black robes. James, much to the surprise of several other Gryffindor, managed to slip into the classroom a good five minutes before the bell rang and snag the seat beside Lily.

Lily looked up in mild surprise at seeing James arrive so early and without his three friends but was even more surprised at seeing that he'd adapted back to his usual sloppy look, his hair even looking a little damp. James appeared to be rather twitchy, his eyes darting all around the room and his hands clasping and unclasping themselves.

"Good morning, James," she greeted, looking back down at the homework, racking her brain for the answers that she had missed.

"Lily—" the tone of his voice seemed urgent, causing Lily to look up in alarm. "I—um—lost—my homework."

Lily raised an eyebrow, a small smile fluttering to her lips. "James," she reached across the desk and pulled out one of his folders from beneath his Potions book. "You put it in your folder last night. I saw you."

"No," he said suddenly. "My history homework. I think I—uh—left it in a closet."

Lily's expression darkened. "Why would your history homework be in a closet?" she inquired sharply.

"I—don't…know," he responded lamely.

James glanced up to see Lily's usually content expression twitch. It was then that he reached over, placing his hand on the back of her chair farthest from him, leaned in, and then blurted out: "Do-you-want-to-go-snog-in-a-broomcloset?"

Lily jerked away from him, horror etched in her expression as she shouted "What!" into his face.

James hurriedly—and nervously—grabbed her wrists and pulled her towards him. "It—It'll just be one class! Besides, this is your best class. Can't you possibly—"

"You're insane, Potter," she said coolly, her green eyes narrowing as she put her homework back into her folder and on top of her books.

"Okay," he sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "I've tried my hardest to live up to your standards this year. I've done everything humanly possible to a point where my friends shun me in company. I've—

"You're insane, James Potter," Lily interjected calmly, lifting her books into her arms.

James released her wrists and looked up at her, his mouth turning down at one corner. "C'mon, Evans. You've never thought about what fun skipping a class might be? Just one? Take a risk, have a party, add a little adventure in your routine of everyday life?"

Lily frowned down her nose at him, causing him to tilt his head away in embarrassment.

"We've got a solid forty five seconds before Slughorn rounds the corner," James perked up and looked into Lily's cautious and slightly blushing face. His glasses slipped down his face a bit as she pulled her books tightly against her chest and turned back to him. "Can you run as fast as you can fly?"

James grabbed his books and her hand before sprinting out of the door with her, leaving the rest of their Potions class to stare off and wonder where in the world their Head Boy and Girl could be ittying off to just as class was about to begin.

No sooner had James and Lily reached the staircase did Slughorn entered the classroom just as the bell rang. The students quickly hurried into their seats as Slughorn wasted no time in calling roll.

"Oh, before I forget, my dear Miss Evans—"

"She's—er—not here, Professor," spoke up a light haired Gryffindor.

Slughorn blinked. "Really? Is she ill?'

"Er—no," continued the Gryffindor, glancing around the room for support. "She—uh, had Head Girl duties to attend to with Potter."

"Potter's out too?" Slughorn exclaimed just as the three other Marauder walked through the door. Seeing as James was not with them, he pulled out his attendance book and began to mark down the names.

Meanwhile, in a broom closet on the fourth floor, Lily and James stood toe to toe beneath a swaying light bulb, their faces tilted to the side so that their noses wouldn't collide and their eyes half lidded. James' hands slowly slid from Lily's waist and to his sides as he bowed his head.

"We're gonna get caught," he stated, suddenly feeling rather guilty at his dragging Lily out of class and pressing her to skip class with him. "And I'll get you in trouble."

Lily's arms were suddenly around his neck, hauling him down, closer to her own height and, as she spoke, her warm breath tickled his nose. "Then, let's make the most of the time we have," she murmured before closing the gap between them and reaching blindly behind him to shut off the light.

* * *

The four unruly Marauders sat quietly in the common room together after lunch. They were unusually quiet and kept trading glances and sneaking looks at James who was starring off into space, his tie completely untied and hanging unevenly about his collar. Finally, unable to take it anymore, Peter broke the silence.

"Where were you in Potions today, Prongs?" he asked.

"And Defense Against the Dark Arts," Sirius added.

"And Herbology," Remus put in.

James shrugged absently, his mind still obviously somewhere else. "Looking for my history homework."

Sirius gave him a weird look. "We had history homework?"

"Did you do what we told you to?" Remus interjected. "Talk to Lily about individuality, conformity, and free will?"

James started, a blush creeping across his cheeks. "I—um—well—"

"James?"

The Marauders jumped and turned toward the entrance as a rather disheveled Lily Evans approached them. James leaped to his feet, startling poor Peter who had been seated beside him.

"James, I—uh—lost my Transfiguration homework."

Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his armchair, his dark hair fell over one eye, giving him a bit of a paranoid look. "Wait, we had Transfiguration homework, too?"

Lily looked away from Sirius and back to James, the yellow ribbons she usually wore in her hair falling loose. "Want to go look in the broom closets with me?"

James was immediately on his feet and at her side, tugging at her hand while saying that of course he would help her. They hurried off to the portrait entrance, leaving the three Marauders on the couch and Remus to wonder aloud why on earth Lily's Transfiguration homework would be in a broom closet.

* * *

_There we have it. I'd appreciate criticism. If there's anything you think I could do better, please let me know. As I have been notified from a few reviewers, some characters may be slightly OOC. _


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